The anguish of the victims' families can barely be imagined. Will the Lord Advocate therefore agree with me that this case highlights the need for greater openness on the part of the Crown Office, something for which I have long called and which I hope she will consider in the light of this case?

Does the Lord Advocate also agree that every criminal case comprises a series of judgment calls that are made during preparation and during the trial and which include any decision that is made by a judge or, indeed, a jury? Does she agree that, regardless of whether we agree with those individual decisions, they cannot be micromanaged from outside the process by people with no training and a sketchy understanding of the system who have not sat through the trial, particularly when the decisions relate to evidence? Does the Lord Advocate agree that this parliamentary chamber cannot and must not be allowed to become a criminal court or, worse, a witch hunt?